A tragic incident at Kenmare Resources’ Moma mine in the northern region of Mozambique resulted in the death of an excavator operator. The individual was in the employment of the Dublin-registered exporter at the time of the accident, which took place during his night shift on Saturday. Initial investigations conducted by the company reveal that the deceased was part of a contractor team tasked with setting up a new dry-mining area.
Following the occurrence, Kenmare halted mining and processing operations at Moma to bring in a safety pause and to communicate the situation to the employees. Inquiries into the event have been initiated by the mine management in collaboration with the police. Kenmare has also communicated the situation to Mozambique’s mining ministry and is maintaining regular contact with the officials.
The mine is operating as usual apart from the dry-mining operation where the incident took place, which continues to be on hold in view of ongoing inquiries. Providing support to the deceased’s family and co-workers has been a priority for Kenmare. Company Managing Director Michael Carvill expressed deep sadness over the loss of their contractor team member and conveyed heartfelt condolences to his kin and friends.
Further probes are underway to determine the cause of the unfortunate event and measures required to avoid such happenings in the future. Safety and wellbeing of the employees and contractors are Kenmare’s primary concerns, a point reiterated to its team by the high-ranking site leadership during the safety stand-down over the weekend.
The company functions in over 15 nations and is accountable for 7% of the global supply of titanium feedstocks. Since 2019, it has given back over USD 230 million, which is approximately EUR 211 million, to its shareholders via dividends and buy-back of shares. Despite reporting a fall in shipments during the year’s first quarter, the company has remained in line with the year’s targets. As per initial three months’ updates, overall shipments have declined by 11% mainly due to significant maintenance work undertaken at its mineral separation plant.
While production of zircon dropped to 8,300 tonnes from 11,400 in the previous year, rutile saw a slight decrease to 1,500 tonnes and concentrates from 10,100 tonnes to 9,600 tonnes. The Heavy mineral concentrate production equated to 316,400 tonnes, in tune with last year’s 315,000 tonnes, while ilmenite production saw a marginal increase to 205,500 tonnes from 204,300 tonnes in 2023.
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